Abstract
In April 1968 the writer read a paper to the Fifth International Congress on Iranian Art and Archaeology [1]. He then suggested that inflatable 'air-domes' might be used to produce controlled conditions for archaeological sites. It might thus become possible to attain a great degree of control over factors affecting the state of conservation of the monument and artifacts being excavated. Such control should then improve the standard of the recovery and interpretation of information from the excavations. The fierce sun, dust and strong winds of the Middle East, and the rains and winds of British and other European sites at present have far too great an effect upon the recovery of information. If the site is being excavated beneath the air-dome, the conservator might have a far better chance of saving valuable evidence than when the site is exposed to the elements. The air-dome could also be most usefully employed during the excavation of what are normally regarded as 'difficult' sites, e.g. buried wooden boats of the Sutton Hoo type; buried wall paintings on 'clay plaster' such as were found at Chatal Hiiyiik in Turkey; or ivories and unbaked clay objects buried in wet soil, etc. An attempt could also be made to control or alter the microclimate under the dome.
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